By Patrick Osio, Jr./HispanicVista.com

June 20, 2005

 

 I have a guaranteed plan for stopping drug smuggling and the drug war that is engulfing Mexican border cities. The plan has the added benefit that it will also stop the corruption of Mexican law enforcement officials, and the fair share of US officials accepting bribes.  I am serious, the plan is guaranteed fait accompli. There is no way it can fail. More good news – once the plan goes into effect it will take no more than a year, in fact within a few months smuggling will undergo a dramatic reduction and before the end of the year it will be history.

What will the program cost? Our Federal Government spends about $20 billion a year on the War on Drugs, states and cities around another $10 billion. My plan calls for using that same amount for the year – the good news again is that all that money would be spent right here in the US not in countries that supply the drugs. And after a year – the costs will be reduced in half to be used for Americans still in need of drug rehabilitation.

By Rodolfo F. Acuna

The U.S. Senate just the other day issued an apology for its history of inaction on lynchings. It acknowledged decades of obstruction. The Senate heard testimony from more than 150 descendants of lynching victims. More than 200 anti-lynching bills had been introduced, three passed the House and seven U.S. presidents lobbied for such laws.  Tellingly, Congress has never apologized for slavery.  It has been documented that a total of 4,742 Americans were lynched between 1882 and 1968, Of these 3,452 were African Americans.

Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) sponsored the bill after she read James Allen's "Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America." Beyond irony some right wing radio hosts have been hailing this action, comparing it to today's use of the filibuster by Democrats to prevent the life appointment of right wing judges.

By Raoul Lowery Contreras/HispanicVista.com

June 20, 2005

Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean is a complete idiot. Those who voted for him to be chairman are complete idiots.  Those who voted for Dean in Democratic primaries last year are complete idiots.

I am a Republican; I have been one since I first registered to vote in January of 1962. Dean was a child then, a Republican child of “privilege,” In other words, he was and is a rich spoiled brat who came by his politics and sustenance from his rich stockbroker father. A father who “never worked a day in his life,” according to Dean.

I came by my Republicanism by study and by what was going around me from the time I first noticed government and politics.  I came by my Republicanism by looking at the world through my own eyes and experiences.  I was a Cold War Warrior and that struggle was the most important part of how I looked at the world. I joined the Marines during college

Her home is searched by lawmen while she's at work
By Duane J. Roberts

When Theresa Dang checked her mailbox on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 15th, she noticed one of the letters she received that day had come from the Orange County District Attorney's Office. No problem, she thought. Maybe Tony Rackauckas, the District Attorney, had finally sent her a letter in response to one that Dang and two other people delivered to his Santa Ana office earlier this month. But when Dang opened the letter, however, she noticed it wasn't from him at all: it was, in fact, a criminal complaint.
In a letter dated Thursday, June 9th, the Orange County District Attorney's Office was notifying Dang that she was being charged with violating Section 484(a)-488 of the California Penal Code, "Petty theft and Carrying Away", a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment in the Orange County jail for up to six months, or both. The letter accused Dang of allegedly committing this criminal act on the night of Wednesday, May 25th.

Julian Nava – the journey of his name.

By John P Schmal/HispanicVista.com

According to the "Population Research  website, 19,300 persons living in the United States bear the last name Nava, giving it a rank of Number 1803 among American surnames. However, among Spanish surnames in the United States, Nava ranks Number 213. By comparison, Rodriguez - with a shared population of 631,000 persons - is Number 22 among all American surnames. Gonzalez - with a population of 457,400 - is Number 38, while Sanchez (with 231,500 persons) ranks at Number 99.
The United States Census Bureau - in its Technical Working Paper No. 13 - ranked Nava as Number 198 among Spanish surnames in America in 1996. According to "Population Research," the surname Nava is even less common in Spain, where it has a shared population of 1,900 individuals and is ranked at Number 599.

By Doug Bower

If you have been following my columns (and if not, why not?), you know I am embarking on a series of articles, prompted by reader's comments on the "Illegal Alien" issue.

Reader's Comment Two: How could you live in a country that is so dangerous?

At first, I thought this individual was referring to the United States--I am not being sarcastic. Not until I figured out he was making a commentary on the state of criminal affairs in the country to which my wife and I had expatriated could I form a cogent reply.

There is violence in Mexico. In addition, and what may surprise some of my critics, is my admission there has been some violence against and kidnappings of some Americans. That is a fact.

The 12 Steps of Immigration Anonymous

June 13, 2005

 

Part II: Steps 4-6

By Bill Dahl/HispanicVista.com

 

Thank you for returning to visit me here again. The immigration reform debate in the U.S. has become so discombobulating I had to check into this treatment center. I’ve been learning a lot since I was first admitted into this facility several weeks ago. I hope you might find the following useful, should you decide that you too may be a problem thinker, suffering from the disease of immigrationism.  

 

 

Immigration Anonymous ( IA ) is a fellowship of U.S. residents who share their experience, strength and hope with one another that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from immigrationism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop stinking thinking. There are no dues or fees for IA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.

 

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS
ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ & PATRISIA GONZALES

 

What do you call it when you disappear an entire people or act as though they're  irrelevant? And what do you call a process that purportedly accepts all peoples into their midst, but only under the condition that they shed their past and assimilate into U.S. culture?
The first question was triggered by the recent announcement by CNN that they are awarding $1 million to three journalism organizations (Black/Latino and Asian) that are part of a historic alliance of four journalism organizations called UNITY. The fourth is the Native American Journalists Association. Why was NAJA left out? Does the explanation matter?
The crime here isn't that CNN left out one organization per se. The crime is that not unlike society as a whole, they chose to ignore the part of society that is foundational to these lands that are called America.

Mexico and Iraq

By Richard N. Baldwin T. /HispanicVista.com

June 20, 2005

 

Now why would we mention México and Iraq in the same sentence? Well, there are some comparisons.

The US is in a continuing war in Iraq against terrorists and "insurgents". I do not intend to get into the arguments for or against getting into that war in the first place, but the US is there, and the war seems to have no end. There are, however, some good cases that state that there was poor planning before starting it. Add that to the poor intelligence in the beginning and lack of foresight as to what would happen after the collapse of the prior regime. And no end game exists aside for staying there "as long as it takes".

But in fact, México is also in the middle of a war on terror. And here too, there was and is no real long term planning on how to win the war. I, of course, refer to the Mexican war on dope. As it is, México is loosing control over the entire northern tier of our states.

Drafted By: Dr. Michael A. Weinstein
 Power and Interest News Report

Over the week of June 6, Bolivia passed through a sharp uptick in its ongoing cycle of political instability that is rooted in the overlapping regional, ethnic and class divisions of the Andean country.
After a month of mounting mass protests throughout Bolivia, including large demonstrations and road blockades, President Carlos Mesa's offer to resign on June 6 set off four days of intensified direct action in the streets and a flurry of desperate efforts within the country's political institutions to find at least a patchwork solution to the crisis and hold off the civil war that Mesa had warned was looming.
The issues at the heart of Bolivia's severe domestic conflict run so deep that any compromise on them by the contending social groups will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve….

By Erika Robles/HispanicVista.com

June 20, 2005

I couldn't believe my eyes when I came across the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" bill, introduced in both the House and Senate on May 12, 2005. To my surprise, John McCain (R-AZ) is sponsoring this bill, along with Ted Kennedy –which did not surprise me at all.
There are so many positive sections in this bill –and therefore controversial- that makes me wonder if it's ever going to pass. In the Senate, the bill might move more efficiently, as there is more interest in discussing the topic. On the other hand, in the House, the process might take longer as they are not as willing to hold a debate on the issue there.

From artist Mark Vallen's weblog

Self Help Graphics, East Los Angeles' venerable institution dedicated to Chicano art, printmaking and grassroots community arts in general, was closed on June 7th, 2005. The artistic heart of Chicano LA beats no more. Amazingly enough, it was the organization's own "Board of Directors" that closed the doors of SHG to the public, changed the locks on the building to bar staff and artists from entering, and locked-up the parking lot used by visitors and community members alike.
While I was aware that there were problems brewing at SHG, its closure comes as a complete shock to me, and to many other artists, activists, and community members. I have exhibited my artworks at SHG, and I have prints and other artworks in its Tienda Colores giftshop. But it's not being deprived of a venue at which to exhibit..

We Need to Do Right and Know What Is Wrong.

By Domingo Ivan  Casañas/HispanicVista.com

June 20, 2005

 

No matter how long you have been a Christian, many of us tend to disobey God’s law for our own flesh feelings.  Do we really know when we are doing wrong?  Since we do live in critical times that make us confront situations that require a decision to be made.  Large or small, these decisions can have a deep effect on our welfare, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  The choices that we have in our daily life at times are routine or trivial.  We wake up, we chose our clothing to wear, the food we eat, the people we see, the calls we make, etc.  We don’t ponder on this type of choices.  They are almost automatic. 

As Christians we even the most trivial choices need to be made with God’s consideration in mind.  The bottom line is that as apostle Paul wrote

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS
BY ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ & PATRISIA GONZALES
 

First person column by Roberto Rodriguez
What is a police state? Though it sounds like a game show question, it's actually part of a serious discussion that needs to be more widely addressed - especially since the president is campaigning to expand and make the controversial USA Patriot Act permanent.
Police states are inimical to freedom and democracy. No one supports them, yet, there's a sharp divide between the president's supporters and critics as to whether we're inching toward that direction.
Despite this, the majority perhaps believes that certain police measures, no matter how repressive, are necessary during national emergencies or times of war, as long as they're but temporary and strictly apply to enemies only….

Patrick Osio, Jr. has written a short but intensive E-book on the Mexican perspective on numerous issues between our two countries. The E-book is also an in depth primer on Mexican culture and protocol for better understanding that allows establishing personal and business relationships, and how to avoid the most common faux pas that can ruin relationships and business deals. Literally this book has been an immense help to thousands, you too can gain from Mr. Osio's lifetime experience.

COMMENTARY & NEWS, June 20, 2005

Enforcement-Only Immigration Policies have Backfired

National Immigration Forum

“If the United States had set out to design a dysfunctional immigration policy, it could hardly have done a better job than what it did between 1986 and the present.”

This is the conclusion of a new paper by the libertarian Cato Institute titled, “Backfire at the Border: Why Enforcement without Legalization Cannot Stop Illegal Immigration.”  The new report provides data showing how the massive buildup of border and immigration enforcement resources has not only been completely ineffective, it has backfired, resulting in a growing and more settled undocumented Mexican population in the U.S. 

Risks high for anti-drug cops

As the government continues its crackdown on drug violence, evidence suggests narco-traffickers could be targeting federal police officers.

BY Jorge Medellin/El Universal
 Recent murders of federal policeman apparently at the hands of organized crime rings continue a trend of casualties that has stretched back to when President Vicente Fox first took office.

The Federal Preventative Police, or PFP, have suffered 153 casualties since December of 2000, according to information given to EL UNIVERSAL by the law enforcement unit. So far in 2005, 18 PFP officers have died in operations against narco-trafficking organizations.

The PFP unit was launched over six years ago as a specialized force trained to…

Mexican officials take blame on aliens
By Stephen Dinan
 Mexican lawmakers told their American counterparts this weekend that Mexico has not done enough to stop the flow of illegal aliens across the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly non-Mexicans who first illegally cross Mexico's southern border.
”For the first time, the Mexicans really acknowledge this is a two-way problem and has to be dealt with on both sides of the border, and I've never really heard them say that before,” Rep. Jim Kolbe, Arizona Republican, said yesterday after returning from a weekend meeting of the Mexico-United States Interparliamentary Group.

Mexico deploys army to 3 states in effort to control drug-wars.

Associated Press

The Mexican government has deployed federal forces to three states to contain surging violence linked to organized crime, the president's office announced today.

President Vicente Fox already had sent hundreds of soldiers and federal agents to the border cities in March to restore order. But concerns about lawlessness were reignited last week with the killing of Nuevo Laredo's police chief just hours after he took office.

The new deployment comes amid evidence that organized crime has penetrated some local police departments, presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar told a news conference.

Mexican Agents:  Now You See Them - Now You Don’t
By Olga R. Rodriguez
Soldiers and federal police dispatched to quell an upsurge of violence in this border city will start leaving this week, replaced by local police who were pulled off patrols to undergo questioning and drug screening, officials said Tuesday.
Mexican Army special forces and federal police manned checkpoints surrounding the city and patrolled streets while municipal police officers waited for their guns to be reissued.
Streets were lively, as residents who recently stayed put in their homes ventured out again amid the heavy security. However, Ramon Garza, selling tacos out of the back of his truck, said business was still bad.

Feeling the Heat in Havana

The Monitor's View

June 16, 2005

Last month, some 150 dissidents in Cuba met openly to plan for a peaceful transition to a post-Castro era. It was the first large-scale meeting in 46 years not authorized by the communist dictator. Such courage signals Cuba's inevitable transition to a pluralistic democracy. 

Yet the reaction in Europe to this political assemblage, unlike in the US which welcomed it, was striking. Last week, the European Union decided to continue barring opponents of Fidel Castro from visiting the embassies of EU members in Havana.

Don't Let L.A. Be the GM of Cities

By Rick Cole/COMMENTARY Los Angeles Times

Antonio Villaraigosa's mayoral victory drew a lot of national attention as a symbol of rising Latino political power. But the analysis stopped there. Few people across the country — or here at home for that matter — took the opportunity to talk about the global significance of governing a city as huge as Los Angeles.
According to United Nations experts, the next few months will mark a momentous shift: For the first time in history, a majority of the planet's population will be living in cities.

Byrd Laments KKK Connection

Senator Writes About 'Foolish Mistake' in Memoir

By Vicki Smith   

Sen. Robert C. Byrd's new memoir reveals both his encyclopedic knowledge of political history and the unlikely inspiration that helped launch his own political career: a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan.

It was a Klan leader who motivated the young Byrd during his short-lived tenure in the racist organization - something he writes was ''an extraordinarily foolish mistake'' that has haunted him for 40 years.

''It has emerged throughout my life to haunt and embarrass me, and has taught me in a very graphic way what one major mistake can do to one's life, career and reputation,'' the…

House Votes To Curb Patriot Act

FBI's Power to Seize Library Records Would Be Halted

By Mike Allen

Washington Post Staff Writer
The House handed President Bush the first defeat in his effort to preserve the broad powers of the USA Patriot Act, voting yesterday to curtail the FBI's ability to seize library and bookstore records for terrorism investigations.

Bush has threatened to veto any measure that weakens those powers. The surprise 238 to 187 rebuke to the White House was produced when a handful of conservative Republicans, worried about government intrusion, joined with Democrats...

Got Milk? or Got Sick? New Ad Campaign Asks Minorities
By Cara Marcano

Up to 80 percent of Hispanics are prone to lactose intolerance, according to research published by Cornell University. In fact, Latinos overall as an ethnic group are more than five times more likely than whites of northern European ancestry to be affected by the ailment, which also plagues 75 percent of blacks and 90 percent of Asians.
Partly for this reason, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) on Friday will launch a new English-language advertising campaign targeting Hispanics, Asians and blacks who may be affected by dairy products. "Got Lactose Intolerance? 75 percent of people do, particularly people of color," the billboards say, adding: "If you're lactose intolerant, you may have grounds for a lawsuit." The campaign will also be supported with a Web site -- MilkMakesMeSick.org

Keeping Social Security Solvent Must Be Nation’s Priority

Expanding Coverage to Domestics and Other Itinerant Workers also Essential

Washington, DC - The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., released a report today urging Congress and the Bush Administration to strengthen the solvency and reach of the Social Security program for Latinos and consider options - such as add-on private retirement accounts, automatic 401(k)s, and making the saver's tax credit permanent and refundable - to further boost retirement security for this growing population. The Social Security Program and Reform: A Latino Perspective presents a comprehensive analysis of the Social Security program as it relates to Latino workers, taxpayers, and retirees.

"Maintaining solvency of the system is especially important for the Hispanic community," stated Janet Murguia…

The old are increasingly white, while the young are largely Hispanic, Asian or black.
Hispanics Population Tops 41 Million

By Shadi Rahimi

The generation gap in America is widening by way of race and ethnicity, figures from the U.S. Census Bureau's annual report released Thursday show. The old are increasingly white, while the young are largely Hispanic, Asian or black.
Hispanics have the fastest growth rate of any racial and ethnic group in the United States a trend experts say is likely to continue because of a steady pace of immigration and high birth rates and three times the growth of the U.S. population of nearly 293.7 million people.
One of every seven people in the United States identifies himself or herself as Hispanic, an ethnic group that accounts for about half the growth in the U.S. population since 2000, according to the census report.

All Against the Mara Nation
Frontera NorteSur (FNS)
An inter-hemispheric meeting which wrapped up this weekend near the Mexico-Guatemala border resolved to take additional steps against U.S. and Central American-based street gangs known as maras. Gathered in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, Chiapas, representatives from Canada, Mexico, the United States, and Central America decided to open an anti-mara training academy in El Salvador, the country with the largest concentration of maras.
Estimates of the number of mara members surpass 100,000 in Central America, the United States, Mexico, and even Canada. Originating in the United States among Central American refugees from the wars of the 1980s, maras have been reported in 33 of the 50 U.S. states. In Mexico, maras have been linked to immigrant smuggling on the southern and northern borders, drug trafficking and violent crimes. 

While West looks East, East looks to the Border

FNS News service

A recent poll by the Deloitte consulting firm of 226 United States manufacturers showed Mexico taking second place to China for investment plans during the 2004-2007 period. While U.S. companies are increasingly eyeing China for investments, Chinese investors are expressing more interest in the northern Mexican border region.
After a recent trip to China by Baja California Governor Eugenio Elorduy, the northern border state appears poised to be on the receiving end of new infusions of Chinese capital. An Dali, a representative of the Mexican office of the Chinese Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said China was interested in border export assembly plants, or maquialdoras, as a way of getting around U.S. trade restrictions and utilizing the North American Free Trade

Richard Scrushy Plays the Race Card with Mixed Results

By Cynthia Tucker

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Let's say you're a rich white guy who -- according to the feds -- has cooked the books at his company to get even richer, inflating earnings to the tune of $2.7 billion. What do you do when the law comes after you?

Do you throw yourself on the mercy of the court? Do you flee the country before you're arrested? Do you stick to a traditional defense of staunchly maintaining your innocence?

Well, if you're Richard Scrushy -- founder and former CEO of...

(Most ignorant article for the week)

TB or not TB?
By Cal Thomas

If anyone needs another reason to oppose illegal immigration, to which the Bush Administration continues to turn a blind eye, how about the spread of a deadly communicable disease?

According to an essay in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a form of tuberculosis that has shown itself resistant to several drugs has invaded California and is present primarily in the state's "foreign-born" population, a politically correct euphemism for illegal aliens.

(HVC Editor’s Note: The author, Mark Krikorian, is the executive director of the anti immigrant Center for Immigration Studies, founded and funded in part by John Tanton identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as the Puppeteer of several anti-immigration organizations. This article is presented to provide information as to the tactics used by Krikorian through Tanton.)

Downsizing Illegal Immigration - A Strategy of Attrition Through Enforcement

By Mark Krikorian

Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy recently unveiled a major bipartisan immigration proposal backed by a coalition of business, labor, and ethnic organizations. Unfortunately, this plan, like other suggested immigration plans (including President Bush’s) is based on a false premise: Since the federal government can’t quickly deport the 10-12 million illegal aliens, the only alternative is legalization – i.e., amnesty.

It's a Flat World, After All
By Thomas L. Friedman
 In 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail for India, going west. He had the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. He never did find India, but he called the people he met "Indians" and came home and reported to his king  and queen: "The world is round."
I set off for India 512 years later. I knew just which direction I was going. I went east. I had Lufthansa business class, and I came home and reported only to my wife and only in a whisper: "The world is flat."
And therein lies a tale of technology and geoeconomics that is fundamentally reshaping our lives -- much, much more quickly than many people realize. It all happened while we were sleeping, or rather while we were focused on 9/11, the dot-com bust and Enron -- which even prompted some to wonder whether globalization was over. Actually, just the opposite was true, which is why it's time to wake up and prepare ourselves for this flat world, because others already are, and there is no time to waste.

Free Trade Idols: NAFTA, CAFTA, FTAA: A Tragic Mistake for America
By Nathan Tabor
Within a matter of weeks, our representatives in Congress will be on the verge of approving the pending Central American Free Trade Agreement, also known as CAFTA. I believe that the passage of this legislation, which could come up for a vote as soon as late June or early July, would be a tragic mistake for America.
I also personally believe that the idolatrous worship of so-called Free Trade, within the ranks of nominal Conservatives in the Republican Party, is a modern-day Golden Calf that will ultimately bring an economic curse upon our country. I realize that is a highly inflammatory statement, so let me clarify my position.

US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce supports DR-CAFTA
Hispanic Alliance for Free Trade
The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, together with its more than 153 local and state chambers of commerce nationwide, announced its endorsement of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), a major agreement that will foster interregional trade and economic growth between the U.S. and Central American countries.
USHCC Chairman David C. Lizarraga stated, “DR-CAFTA will level the playing field for many U.S. workers and businesses, creating economic opportunities on both sides.  While Central American countries already enjoy duty-free access into the U.S. market...

RNHA decries racial slurs towards one of their own

Washington, D.C.

The Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA) strongly condemns the racial slurs by Nebraska Democrat Party Executive Director and asks for his resignation.

Barry Rubin Executive Director of the Nebraska Democrat Party last week referred to the Republican Douglas County Election Commissioner Carlos Castillo Jr. as "Tio Tomas," or Uncle Tom, on the state Democrats' Web site.

"Uncle Tom" is a disdainful term for a black person whose behavior toward whites is regarded as fawning or servile.

The same week Howard Dean contemptuously called the Republican Party a “white Christian party” disregarding the 44% of Hispanics that voted for the reelection of President Bush and this administration’s record number of Hispanic appointees.

U.S. not so sure now about Passport requirements

By Lara Jakes Jordan
Associated Press Writer

Acknowledging international concerns, the United States will revamp its biometric passport requirements to make it easier for foreign travelers from friendly nations to enter the country without a visa, The Associated Press has learned.

The new passport standards - requiring digital photographs to match with a person's unique physical characteristics by October and an embedded identification chip later - would be similar to international biometric guidelines already in place.

The standards take a step back from what the U.S. initially envisioned for biometric passports, but a Homeland Security Department official said Tuesday they represent an "acceptable milestone for now."